Falling from Grace
by HPhaeton
Summary: Episode related (4.12 Summit) - While Liam's quantum doppelganger gets all the fun and the heroic deeds, the "real" Liam is stuck in a cell alone with his thoughts. (Implied Da'an/Liam relationship)


**Disclaimer:** EFC belongs to Tribune Entertainment, Alliance Atlantis and The Roddenberry Family. I'm not making money with this, it's just for fun.

 **A/N:** Many thanks to centaury_squill for looking over this for me.

* * *

 **Falling from Grace**

 _Whatever suicide mission Da'an is on, he should have taken me with him, if only to keep me from falling into Zo'or's and Sandoval's hands,_ Liam thought bitterly. _I didn't pay enough attention then. He was saying goodbye, leaving me, and clearly not expecting to return._ The energy field Da'an had trapped him in had vanished after five minutes just as promised, but it was hard not to feel betrayed again. Especially since both Zo'or and Sandoval had wasted no time descending on him after Da'an's disappearance.

* * *

Liam had been so lost in recounting those last minutes of his conversation with Da'an and speculating about his plans, he hadn't even noticed Zo'or slowly leading them towards the medical bay, until his eyes had fallen on the lab equipment and the doctor waiting for them. By then two heavily armed Volunteers had already been behind him, cutting off any way of escape. Liam had made a weak attempt at protest, but it had been futile. Da'an was gone, and with him his protection.

They hadn't even bothered strapping him down when they'd implanted the surveillance CVI. He'd had to keep still through the pain, or risk possible brain damage. At least there was no Motivational Imperative included in the CVI, forcing him to mindlessly obey Zo'or's every whims, or even to betray the Resistance. A connection Sandoval had accused him of many times before, and even Zo'or seemed to be aware of, if Liam interpreted Zo'or's orders to use his "special inside knowledge" in locating Da'an's whereabouts right. At best he was only referring to Liam's and Da'an's unusual closeness, but with Zo'or it was always better to stay cautious.

Maybe they had assumed that watching through Liam's eyes and listening through his ears would get them enough evidence. Visiting Doors International was a risky move, but Renee had understood what Liam was hinting at not a moment too soon. Luckily, the fresh bruise from the injection was still clearly visible on his throat.

Liam didn't exactly trust Renee with his person, but he was certain that she would do her best for the Resistance while Liam was compromised. And she would either come up with a plan to help, or at least get the others to stay away from Liam until the situation had been resolved. As to how, he had no idea, but there had been some clues.

Renee certainly had had no need to meet Liam just to give him a simple data disc with the names of Da'an's latest DI contacts. Hardly secret information, which she easily could have sent via email. The next hint had been the call from a man Liam had briefly noticed tying his shoelaces in front of the news stand while he'd been waiting for Renee. The stranger told Liam he'd had contact with Da'an and wanted to meet Liam in person to discuss some problems - regarding a joint venture of Da'an's with Doors International that Liam had never heard of. He'd claimed his current location to be at a plant in Colorado, which was obviously not the case.

So Liam had agreed to fly out and wasn't the least bit surprised when the attack happened in front of the shuttle hangar. He had drawn his weapon to put on a show for Sandoval, but hadn't tried very hard to escape when he saw the gas grenade at his feet. A couple of seconds of feigned shock, then everything had been black.

* * *

When he'd come back to consciousness, he'd been lying somewhere in the open in a public street. Whoever had abducted Liam seemed to have left nothing to chance, because there'd already been paramedics present and tending to him. But soon enough Sandoval and a group of Volunteers had shown up. Liam had still been pretty out of it at first, clinging to Sandoval's arm to steady himself, and for whatever reason Sandoval had let him. But the sarcasm had been hard to miss - words like "sick leave" and "best possible medical care" had soon been followed by "on the mother ship" and "take the Major to a cell". Apparently being out of contact for a few hours had been the last straw for Sandoval.

They had taken his service weapon and his global and left him in a bare room on board the mother ship, with only one Volunteer standing guard in front of the virtual shield. There was no sense in trying to escape, though, with Sandoval automatically receiving the data from his new CVI. Proof he was still listening to Liam came immediately after some chosen displays of anger and frustration. Pushing his hands against the barrier was stupid and painful, but hearing his father taunting him over the intercom and promising torture until death was even worse.

So here he was now, pacing the few steps up and down his cell, unable to do anything but wait and speculate what was going on, what kind of steps the Resistance was taking now, while Liam had disappeared from Earth and was unable to even communicate. His restlessness and anger had only been in parts for show. Anger at himself for not going underground as soon as Da'an had vanished through that portal. Anger at Renee for delivering him right back into Sandoval's hands - at least Liam assumed it had been Renee who was behind his abduction. Anger at Da'an for leaving him behind. Abandoning him.

 _There's nothing left of our relationship but mistrust and fear._ Da'an had said, although both of them had known it wasn't true. But still, Liam had been so eager to prove him wrong. _He banked on that. He knows I still hold affection for him despite everything that happened between us. I wouldn't have switched off the ANA surveillance of his personal energy signature for any other Taelon, and as soon as I did he trapped me behind that barrier and made his escape._

It hurt. _I know he still cares about me, too. We break up and then we make up, over and over again._ And no matter their differences, Da'an had kept Liam's biggest secret the whole time, was still keeping it now. Sandoval and Zo'or had their suspicions about Liam's involvement with the Liberation, but so far it hadn't even occurred to them that Liam wasn't really who he claimed to be, that every single record about his identity was falsified, down to DNA and brain wave patterns. Of course, it helped a lot that the real Liam Kincaid had kept an extremely low profile, but still. Da'an knew, had known from the beginning, from their very first meeting, and had kept silent about it.

 _What is his plan, meeting with the Jaridians?_ Liam didn't believe even for a moment that Da'an would betray the Taelons like that. That would be Zo'or's paranoia, or just a convenient excuse to finally get rid of Da'an.

He was still feeling the aftereffects from the knock-out gas. Adrenaline and Sandoval's taunts had kept him alert for a while, but soon even those had stopped. When the exhaustion became too much, Liam lowered himself to the floor, leaning against the wall opposite from the energy barrier. He desperately needed to rest, especially considering the possibility that he'd have to fight his way out. At least he wasn't completely without allies on the mothership. While the other Taelons would follow Zo'or's orders, there were still a few Resistance members under cover as Volunteers. Trusting them to warn him in time, he finally gave in and closed his eyes.

* * *

"Liam!" A concerned voice and a soft touch on his face. Liam slowly blinked awake. Da'an was crouched before him, a wounded expression in his eyes. Before the Taelon could begin asking questions, Liam wordlessly offered his hand for a Sharing. _Please, I hope he understands. I'm not safe to talk to right now._ Da'an's eyes widened in surprise, but he touched his own hand to Liam's in acceptance. Liam immediately transferred his memory of how Zo'or insisted on implanting him, of Sandoval's threats and his arrest.

Grief, shock, anger, relief and affection were flowing back to him. Images of Liam kneeling before Da'an, of green crystals in pale hands, Liam holding a cold fusion device, grinning and saying goodbye. _How exactly did I manage to be in two places at the same time? And what the hell happened to make Da'an feel like that?_

Finally, Da'an broke the contact and started to rise again. "Come, Major! We will see Zo'or about getting your CVI removed. And then, I believe, we need to talk." Yeah, it was high time to get that bug out of his head! _And from the way he's looking at me, I guess we're back to making up again._ Liam offered Da'an a tentative smile.

"Yes, Da'an, we do."


End file.
